(NaturalNews) Ask 20 or more people who suffer with an allergy at what point in their life the symptoms began. Did, by chance, the allergy "set in" during a time of transition? You may be surprised to discover that, although many people remain unconscious to this phenomenon, allergies often accompany life transitions, coming and going at major turning points.

This was my experience as a young psychotherapist. I gathered, surveyed and treated 50 allergy victims with a Neurolinguistic allergy process developed by Tim Hallbom and Suzi Smith. Of the 50 participants in my makeshift study, more than half of them (29) could positively identify that their allergic reactions began during a significant life transition. Some examples are: Leaving home, marriage, divorce/break up, career transition, becoming a parent, getting a promotion, leaving a religion and so on.

Understanding the physical process behind allergies opens the door to further exploration of how psychological developments can alter the immune system. Allergies are, of course, an immune response. White blood cells travel through your system, identifying invasive viruses or bacteria that can be differentiated as "foreign" to you. When such is the case, a mini war begins (See the June 1986 National Geographic article "Cell Wars" for some stunning pictures of this) in which the foreign invader is ousted, but not without a fight that creates the allergic reaction.

Is it possible, then, during times of transition, especially during powerful life transitions when our sense of who we are is in flux, that our immune system can become confused? Could it be that during these high-tension times that the immune system is capable of making mistakes?

In fact, allergies can be well understood as mistakes of the immune system. The system, on alert for foreign invaders, marks an otherwise harmless substance as dangerous and begins a battle to eliminate it. What's a mistake if not fighting to eliminate a harmless substance from the body? It is particularly interesting to speak with someone who, for example, was never allergic to cats before getting married and making regular visits to the in-laws. Of course, this scenario suggests additional motives as well.

In my makeshift study where over 50 percent of participants identified a life transition associated with the onset of allergy symptoms, a full 25 percent were able to completely eliminate their specific allergic reaction with nothing other than psychotherapy, which involved NLP and light hypnosis. Over half of the total participants received some positive shift in their symptoms, with nearly half of participants receiving no relief with psychotherapy.

This little anecdote is a far cry from an allergy cure, but the questions raised by the NLP "immune mistake" assumption are fascinating. How deeply does our psychology affect our health? What implications does this have toward healing from other conditions or even diseases?

I have found in my work with allergy sufferers in particular that the clients who cannot associate the allergy with a life transition, either from lack of memory or perhaps even from closed-mindedness, are the clients least likely to succeed with a psychotherapeutic approach.

The ability to positively influence your health with your mind may be closely related to your level of openness and curiosity.

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